This walking trip focuses on the migrating songbirds passing through Davis. Willowbank Ditch in South Davis has a fantastic mix of mature trees, dense understory, and diverse fruiting and flowering plants. Early May is at the tail end of sparrow migration, but still in the heart of warbler and flycatcher migration through the area. We will hope for foraging groups of warblers and flycatchers as we practice learning the songs and calls of an array of local songbirds. Some targets will include Wilson’s, Yellow, and MacGillivray’s Warblers, Western Wood-pewee, Western Tanager, and Lazuli Bunting. We will also practice thinking from a birds-eye view, discussing habitat, food sources, and tips and tricks for predicting the best spots to find migrating songbirds.
The trip will leave from the junction of Almond Lane and Rosario Street in Davis. There is street parking on streets by this junction, and this intersection has a walking path that leads to the footbridge over the Willowbank Ditch.
We will meet at 7am and the trip will end around 9 or 9:30am. Expect ~1 mile of walking, although we will never be more than 1/2 of a mile from the meeting spot. Please bring binoculars as well as any desired snacks and water. Heavy rain will cancel the trip. For more information contact Rob Furrow at robertfurrow@gmail.com or 610-715-9123.
We had 25 participants on our Willowbank Ditch trip, and things started off strong with a flock of White-faced Ibis passing over the neighborhood. Within the park we focused our efforts on native plants like valley oaks and blue elderberries. We enjoyed great looks at several Black-headed Grosbeaks and had a neck-aching encounter with two Great Horned Owls perched high in a tall eucalyptus tree.
The trip was somewhat focused on flycatchers, so a cooperatively perched Western Wood-pewee was a highlight. We also managed brief encounters with some of the hard-to-ID small flycatchers in the genus Empidonax, including a Dusky Flycatcher making its characteristic “whit” call and a cagey Hammond’s Flycatcher. A final treat was encountering a family of Dark-eyed Juncos — this species is common in Davis in Winter, but is a rare breeder anywhere in the Central Valley.
Checklist (with photos) from the day: https://ebird.org/checklist/S109283120